The Boy With The Bread: Peeta's Story
by J.S.Fairey
Summary: We know the story of the 74th Hunger Games from the view of the Girl on Fire, but what about the Boy with the Bread? I know its probably done before, but here is the Hunger Games from the POV of Peeta Mellark. Please review and enjoy!
1. Eyes meet at the reaping

**Eyes meet at the reaping**

"Peeta Mellark." The name echoes in my ears, but it does not seem my own. My feet, almost of their own accord, guide me towards the stage. I don't have to worry about the crowd. They part in front of me, and as I stare blindly around, I can see that all bear the same expression on their faces. Pity. Sorrow. Some aren't tactful enough to cover up their relief, while others manage to mutter short condolences. I know that I must look in shock, a deer in the headlights, but the reason isn't my name being drawn. It isn't the thought of the ideal to come, of the horrible deeds I will soon see committed, and most likely commit. No, the reason I look so shocked is the girl looking down on me from the stage. The one girl in the world I wish wasn't standing there. Katniss Everdeen.

I still remember the first day I saw her. The first time my blue eyes met her piercing grey ones. Of course, back then her eyes didn't have the edge they do now. They didn't carry the sorrow of one bearing responsibility many years older than herself. They were the happy eyes of a child, walking with her Dad on the first day of school.

It was my father who pointed her out first. We had reached the school gate, and I had suddenly stopped. I tugged at my father's hand, trying desperately to pull him away from this place, back to the bakery where I felt safe. But he had crouched down onto his haunches and looked me in the eye, trying to find something to say, something that would cheer me up. But he was never very good with words, so he tried a different tack. Distraction.

"Peeta" He said, pointing to a man and girl already at the school gate. "Do you see that girl?" I nodded, still sulking. "Well, her mother was the first women I ever loved." This got my attention. I looked up at him. "She had the most beautiful blonde hair. But what made me notice her was that once, she found a bird who was dying. She took it home, and tried to nurse it back to health. She cared so much Peeta. And that was why I loved her."

I looked into his eyes, his eyes which mirrored mine almost exactly. "Why did you stop loving her?" He sighed, and I saw sorrow in his face. "I didn't. She didn't love me, and she never did. Her heart belonged to another man. That man in fact." Once again he pointed at the man with the girl. "Why would she want him? You're a baker, and he's only a miner?" I had asked. He smiled at me. "Because when he sung, even the birds stopped to listen." He let go off my hand, and gave me a small wave. He had walked me right up to the gate.

In the first lesson, in an attempt to break our nerves, the teacher thought we should sing. So she asked if anyone knew the valley song. One hand went up, quick as a flash. The teacher brought up the girl, the girl with the grey eyes, made her stand on a chair and asked her to sing. When she did, everyone fell silent. Even the always chirping birds stopped. Even the birds stopped to listen.

"Up you come then" The shrill capitol accent of Effie Trinket brought me ripping out of my memories. She held out her hand, but I don't take it. I climb onto the stage, and stand there next to Effie, next to Katniss. Katniss. Even thinking her name gives me a thrill.

"Let's have a big round of applause for our male tribute in the 74th hunger games!" Effie trilled. When she had done this with Katniss, nobody had applauded. Instead they had raised a three fingered salute, a symbol of admiration. No one saluted me. But they didn't applaud either. For that I was grateful. They didn't applaud my death sentence.

The mayor stepped up and gave a speech. I didn't listen, instead trying not to look at Katniss, not to give away my feelings. It wouldn't have mattered. She was staring ahead, in a whole other place. We are told to shake hands. With a pang I realise this is the first time we've touched. As we grasp hands, I can feel her trembling, and instinctively I give her hand a squeeze. She looks at me, and our eyes meet.

My blue ones and her grey. And I know then that I couldn't harm this girl, let alone kill her. I know then that I have to protect her. Whatever the costs.


	2. Goodbyes

**Hey Guys, this is the second chapter to my very first fan fiction! I hope you enjoy it, and please please please give me a review! **

**Goodbyes**

I look around my cell, taking it all in. My heart catches in my throat, as I realised this will be the last time I saw District Twelve. But this isn't District Twelve, this isn't home. This is a little bit of the capitol, already ripping me from my family.

The room is dark and dingy, lit only by one barely working light bulb. The walls are covered in peeling wallpaper, probably designed to cheer up contestants. Unfortunately, the peels have made the happily prancing mythical creatures look decapitated and mutated. I almost wretch at the thought. That could be me in a week.

I shake my head, wiping the thoughts from my mind, but instead am hit by a wave of new ones. Every year, boys around my age had sat here, just like I am. They had thought despairing thoughts, just like I am. They know that they had no chance of returning, just like I do.

However I have something they don't have. I have something to fight for in the arena, besides my own survival. I have Katniss. My decisions won't be dictated by what keeps me safe, but what keeps her safe. That makes me unpredictable. And that makes me a threat.

I'm ripped out of my head when the door creaks open. I look up and see my first visitors, my brothers. There's a moment of uncomfortable silence as we look at each other, me and Matew, who was young enough to take my place. And then he bursts into tears.

The shock keeps me from saying anything for a few moments, and then I laugh. "I'm sorry Mat, do you need me to comfort you? It's not as if I'm being sent to my death here!" Mat grins through his tears, but they come back in an even stronger wave when he chokes out "I should off taken your place Peet. I should have done what Katniss did."

And suddenly we're hugging, and there are tears on my face, but I don't know whose. I can feel Matew shaking in my arms, so I hold him tighter, and whisper "No you shouldn't of Mat. It's the way the games work. It's the way they've always worked." The hug ends, and I move onto Jun.

There are no tears here, only a quiet, strong sorrow. Jun and I have never talked much, but we've always had this understanding. I look at him, and I say "Try not to miss me too much." He nods at me, and we share a quick hug. It's all we need. And then they're gone.

My mother follows them into my room. She sits a few chairs away from me, not getting too close. I know that she won't miss me. Not like the others will. At least she's made the effort to say goodbye.

The silence lingers for a few minutes. My mother shifts uncomfortably, then finally says "You mind your manners in the Capitol you hear? Be polite to Caesar on stage, it wouldn't do to reflect poorly on us Peeta."

Typical. The last time I'm ever going to see her, and all she can do is lecture me on my manners. I let it last for a few minutes, and then gently say "Mum." She falls silent, then rose to her feet and gave me a brief hug. "You listen to Haymitch Peeta. He may be a drunk, but he was a victor. It's been too long since that happened."

She opens the door, and makes one last comment. "Maybe District 12 will have a victor this year." I look up. Does she really believe in me? Hope fills my heart, only to be dashed by another comment, said so quietly I cannot tell whether it was meant to be heard. "She's a fighter that one."

Even my own Mother doesn't believe that I will return. The one woman in the world who is meant to believe in me no matter what. All my strength disappears as the door slams shut, and I bury my head in my hands, fear taking an iron grip on my heart. This is it, I think. I am going to die.

I am so caught up in my own thoughts that I don't even hear my Father enter the room. He sits next to me, and puts his strong Bakers arm around my shoulders. I hug him close, trying to pretend I am young again, and knowing that I will never feel this support again.

I felt him take my hand, and slip something into it. A small golden ring. A bright, flawless ruby is embedded in the top, and around the band there are delicate engraved letters. I look at him, gawping. "Dad, this much off cost a fortune…" He stops me with a shake of his head. "I bought it years ago, just in case one of you boys was drawn in the games. I was hoping you could wear it as your token."

"Of course" I whisper. Suddenly so many things I have to say, so many emotions I have to get across, come to my mind. But I cannot say them all; I cannot show him how much he means to me. So instead I hug him tightly, and manage to choke out two words. "Thank you."

A peacekeeper opens the door. "Mr Mellark, you have to go now." He squeezes me one final time, and then is gone, out of my life. I shall never see him again. All I have left is this golden ring. I examine it, and read the words engraved along the golden band.

"Be brave my son."

All my bravery, all of my strength disappears, and I burst into tears.


End file.
